Sunday, February 7, 2010

All In The Family

Yesterday I got to watch my very talented sister Mimi perform with her Chinese orchestra for Lunar New Year.

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There were pieces with the whole orchestra plus she did an instrumental duet!  My grandparents were there, as well as a very good friend with her munchkins, so it was a lot of fun to see everyone and cheer for Mimi!

Today it was a different kind of family outing – my first race of 2010!!!  2.5 months ago, when I finished IM AZ, this moment felt like a million years away; 2 weeks ago, it felt too soon!  Today it felt just right.  I know my running legs aren’t exactly where I want them for the year yet but they were still in darn good form!

My mom and my sister Cai were going to run the 3K event, while I was running the 10K along with Jenn, her husband David, my aunt and her husband.  My family arrived a little earlier than expected this morning, and so we got an early start driving over to Santa Cruz.

It’s still dark out!  But we were the first ones to check in.  And the first to christen the portajohns.  Mom and Cai were still heavily bundled up here.

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After staying warm in the car for a while, we spotted Jenn and David and my aunt with my uncle and her friends.  Lots of nervous chatter and then we headed down to the start line to watch the 1K kids run go off.  SO. CUTE! 

Shortly thereafter they were ready to start the 3K run.  My mom only started running in the last couple months (she has a cute little story about figuring out at IM AZ that she was capable of running).  When I talked her into this race, she worked hard to build up to the 3K distance and then started working on getting faster doing it.  She set an ambitious goal for herself for this race.  Once they started the race, I began my warmup run, while also taking pictures of my mom and sister heading out.  I got back just in time to cheer my mom as she sprinted in!  1 MINUTE FASTER THAN HER GOAL!  Yay, Mom!

Evelyne Working hard at the finish (2)

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And then it was time for the 10K.  When I laid out my goals for the year, this was more of a B race, a chance to see how my legs were doing after AZ.  I thought it would be nice if I could match my PR but in December and early January as I got back to running, I questioned even that.  My last few long runs leading up to this ones though had been good ones so who knows?  All I knew for sure that it would hurt. 

We’re off!  You can *almost* see me in a teal tank and green visor right behind the guy starting his watch.

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My aunt’s awesome shirt says “I’m only doing this so I can post a picture on Facebook.” 

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As per my instructions, I held back the first couple miles and then picked up the pace every mile thereafter.  I got passed by what felt like everyone in that first mile.  But I steadily passed and was never repassed after that.  Holding back at the race start is not easy but I knew I’d need it to not blow up later. 

The course for this race is lovely – starting in the shade of Natural Bridges State Park and heading immediately out to the shoreline to run along the Pacific Ocean to and from the turnaround.  Surprisingly it was sunny and WARM today and I was feeling that heat by mile 3.  By the last 1.5 miles, I was just trying not to focus on how much I felt like barfing (I’ve already been there, done that when racing so I knew it was a possibility).  As I rounded the last turn and headed downhill to the finish, it looked…so…far…away. 

Almost there

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And then finally I was done.  Too bad I couldn’t be bothered to smile nice at the finish like my mom did!

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I managed a PR by 2 minutes and 15 seconds!  And upon further review of the data, I negative-splitted each mile perfectly. 

From there it was time to jog my cool-down mile while cheering in friends and family.  Everyone did fantastic! I was so proud of Jenn especially for her first running race! 

With Jenn

Jenn with the Champion (2)

With my sister, mom and aunt

Evelyne Working hard at the finish

Eventually we all wandered up to the “expo” area, looking for water, snacks and more warm layers (fog was rolling in again), while they announced awards.

My mom and sister were both 4th in their age groups!  And then to my surprise…I won my age group!

Finished

Suffice it to say, 2010 is off to a good start!

Training totals for February 1-7:
Swim: 6700 yards (and let me add, 50 of those yards were real honest-to-goodness BUTTERFLY stroke)
Bike: 15.8 miles
Run: 16.3 miles
Strength: 0.5 hour
Total time: 7.25 hours

25 comments:

Marit C-L said...

Congrats to you and EVERYONE! Looks like an awesome weekend all around :) Way to start off your 2010 season - with a pr! WOO HOO!!!!!!

*Time for cupcakes!*

Jennifer Harrison said...

Look how cute you are! LOVE IT! And, Love that Jenn rocked it too! AND your mom and friends...what a great weekend - congrats! AND awesome of your sister playing !!

Here's to a great 2010!
Congrats!

Liz Waterstraat said...

YEAH!! You rock. Speed is fun, isn't it? Get ready for a speedy year. PS - you need some racing shoes for these shorter events. Let's talk.

My Life said...

Congrats on that PR! Wow!

Anonymous said...

CONGRATS Molly :) Looks like you girls had a great time out there this morning! And I am VERY jealous of all your Lululemon gear!!!

Maggs said...

Yay for butterfly!

melissa said...

Great run Molly! As always you are an inspiration. 1st in your age group!! Amazing!

jennabul said...

That was FUN. I hurt now. But it was fun then =). Major congrats to you for winning your age group. Whee!!!!! Very proud =)

San said...

Congratulations to you and your family. Well done. Just loved this report. Makes me want to race straight away.

ADC said...

Brillian, absolutely brilliant. Well done Molly. It is well deserved. And your Mum is amazing.

ADC said...

Brillian, absolutely brilliant. Well done Molly. It is well deserved. And your Mum is amazing.

Maria said...

What a way to begin the season! I love to hear about family races, congrats to everyone, including yourself for the awesome win!!
I love your aunt's shirt, that is great!
P.S. 50 yards of butterfly is quite the accomplishment as well!

Unknown said...

Way to go, Molly!! I just loved the picture of your Mom finishing...she looks so happy! What a great way to kick of the season!

Iron Jayhawk said...

While I am totally jazzed and proud of your first in age placing and new PR...I am MORE impressed by the butterfly. :)

Nice job, Molly!!

Wes said...

Booyah! Congrats girl. You've got a whole family of go getters. That's pretty dayum cool...

Charisa said...

Love that final picture! So fun that the whole family did the race :)

Jennifer said...

Great pictures and a great race for everyone! I love running with my family but they live far away and I only get to do it once in a while. Kudos to you for getting it done and with and with a PR!

Runner Leana said...

Molly, congratulations! Sounds like a fantastic weekend all around. Way to go to your mom and everyone else for their races. Sounds like you are kicking 2010 off in just the right way with an AG win!!!! And a 2:15 PR? That is super impressive.

Nice job!!!!
(Love your racing attire too btw!)

Beth said...

Congrats on your PR and win!! And I just LOVE the smile on your mom's face as she runs in. What a great picture! :)

ShirleyPerly said...

Congratulations Molly!!!

I hope to run my first 10K as well as you did (very doubtful I'll win my AG, though!). And wonderful that your mom & sister ran the 3K too!

Meera said...

Great work! I find it so cute that you've managed to make this a family activity. That's awesome!

TriGirl Kate O said...

I'm with Marit; definitely time for a celebratory cupcake. Although the margaritas probably are a good second.

I christened my "Gnomies" suit last night!

GoBigGreen said...

Yeah for the first AG win of the season:) You are all so cute and big YEAH for your mom and aunt getting out there to run. that is really great!

IzzyBubbles said...

Congrats on the PR and the age group win! You all are so cute in your pictures, you match perfectly! And that is a fantastic shirt your Aunt had, I need to figure out where to get one of those!

Jennifer Cunnane said...

You ROCK! Way to go sister! All the IM training with speed layered on top of it will help make you FAST this season. Great job!